Top Highlights

• In recent years, such tantrum-prone kids have been labeled “difficult,” “strong-willed,” and “defiant.” More recent, they have also been called “quirky” and even “spirited.” They are often intense, hypersensitive, persistent, distractible, and unwilling to accept change. But — like the spirited horse Seabiscuit, in the book and movie of the same na...
• and over two million parents had completed my Active Parenting courses, six-session video-based groups that teach a complete approach to parenting.
• They tend to be extra Curious, Adventurous, Powerful, Persistent, and Sensitive.
• Spirited kids seem to have more energy and power than most kids. They do not like to be controlled, and they use their power to thwart attempts to rein in their freedom. It is as if they view the universe as their personal playground on which they should be able to romp, play, and explore unobstructed by the rules and order that limit others.
• Spoiling comes from the outside in. In other words, the parent spoils the child by giving him too many privileges, too much freedom, or too many objects. The child learns to expect these things whenever he wants them. When he doesn’t get what he wants, he becomes frustrated and complains.